Writers: Drakonsnake, Anon1909, Lacuna, TheLeafWing, SapphireCut407, Hermittpad_Star, DakotahWinters, ButterFlies77Writes PotatoSquared_15

Editor: helicopter_stan

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It was a foggy morning on the Hermitcraft server, the sun just cresting over the mountains. Yet, strangely, there wasn't a soul in sight, nor was there any indication that anyone inhabited the world at all.

Through the fog came an eerie scrabbling noise, the source impossible to locate. The sound stopped, followed by long minutes of silence.

The fog was burning off as the sun fully arose over the mountains, revealing rocky slopes descending into a foggy valley dotted with trees. A thin layer of mist still covered the ground when it happened.

From the base of the mountain there came a scraping noise, as if rocks were being shifted. A secret door opened, and a single figure emerged.

The figure was a man of above average stature, with broad sweeping shoulders and a six-foot frame. He was clothed in a well fitted three-piece suit, not cheap, though perhaps a little gaudy.

In his hands he held a pen and clipboard, and he was muttering nonsensically to himself. Something about contraptions and tests and mucking up the red stone.

Dark circles crested under his eyes, dear, he must not have slept for a while. When he finally managed a coherent sentence, it was quite the self-loathing phrase.

"Come on, Mumbo, you big dummy, you can figure this out.."

"There has to be a way to go back..."

He stopped, tapping his foot on the ground, the sound stable and rhythmic. He scribbled and erased things on the paper, the sound of pen on paper mixing to his foot tapping.

"This is probably the future..." he mumbled "Assuming this is the future..."

He halted as he had figured something out, silence engulfing the air. He looked back to where he came from, his eyes catching fear.

"No, no, no-" he started slowly, picking up the pace. "No, no- Please no-"

He started to run, to run as fast as he could.

He kept running, just running.

That was all he knew how to do at the moment. His discovery shocked him to the very core, and he could barely begin to process it.

He did actually have a destination in mind, and only a small clue as to how that would help clear things up a bit.

The shadow of doubt loomed over everything he was doing, everywhere he went past. It was a physical thing, and it seemed to be peering from the darkness.

Finally the man reached his destination, a tall black tower in a field full of similar buildings.

The buildings were familiar in style, like he'd seen them in a different palate.

What season was it 5, maybe 7?

No, this was something different, why was he thinking about his mustache?

Oh, that's Grian's Season 6 base, that tower always made him worry about his mustache.

Now he was more worried about why it was here, and why it looked like someone burnt it along with hundreds of copies.

Perhaps he had traveled to a different universe?

He pondered the possibility; it would explain the fire, the copies..

It lined up with his theory...

Ugh, he should never have built that stupid time machine. Now he was stuck in some dystopian alternate season six.

Come on Mumbo, think, you can fix this.

Maybe the inside of one of these towers would have some supplies, he was tired and famished from his run, and if he was stuck in another universe he would at least like a set of tools.

He turned around for a moment, looking back to where he came from. He was hesitant but he stepped towards the closest tower.

As Mumbo moved further into the ring he could feel it cracking. He wondered how a concrete building cracked just by his footsteps.

He paused for a moment when he heard a tower collapse. It had come from a far away tower but the impact of it was still really big.

Mumbo entered the building, inside was armor stands, with hermit heads on them, some looked like they were positioned and decorated by Cleo.

The dustier ones seemed less intricate, older, like someone had been here for a while after whatever burned the tower and was trying to recreate their friends.

But one hermit was missing from the stands, one he knew the face of well, one who would obviously hide here, in his own base.

"Grian?"

There was a quiet sniff from the corner, and a soft rustling noise, as something moved around in the shadows.

A voice whispered, "Hello?" a child's voice, innocent and young.

Mumbo took another step into the room and instantly froze, feeling the weight of a blade on his neck. He didn't dare turn to see who it was.

"You! " a different voice growled, next to Mumbo's ear. "What are you doing here?"

Another shuffling noise from the shadows, and out stepped a child, dirty and bedraggled. The person behind him made a noise of protest, but Mumbo could only focus on what he was seeing before him.

"Mumby!" The child called, wings fluttering happily, making grabby hands up at him.

It was Grian.

Well, kind of.

"Gimme!" The tiny Grian says to whoever is holding the sword to his neck

"Fine. But you realize he's the reason we are stuck here with whatever burnt everything!" The sword is lowered from his neck with a grumble from behind him.

Turning around he sees an older scarred version of Grian, no wings, and somehow as tall as him.

The older Grian takes a second to look Mumbo up and down, "you're not supposed to be here." He extends his arm, and the younger Grian flocks to it, his wings fluttering like a baby bird, unsure, though ultimately successful.

The child landed on the adult's arm, using it as a stepping stool to find a stable landing on the adult's shoulders. This was a clearly practiced motion.

"We haven't seen a Mumbo in a while.. not since mine left. What are you doing here?"

"I-" Mumbo started, "I don't really know; it was an experiment." He had a plethora of questions, yet dared not to ask any of them.

"An experiment?" The young Grian exclaimed "What is it about?"

The older Grian raised his finger, the younger one quietening. "About a time machine." he said "My version of you worked on that as well."

Mumbo nodded. "It is a time machine." he stopped. It was nerve wracking under the gaze of Grian, this version of Grian.

In an attempt to avoid the Avian's blazing eyes, Mumbo shifted his gaze towards his surroundings, and it was at that moment that a certain realization hit him like I minecart on a course of powered rails.

"Wait a second, what happened to me?! I mean, your version of me, where is-" he cut himself off, his mouth remaining slightly open.

A tidal wave of questions had suddenly appeared in his head, and for a few moments, he couldn't even feel the other Grian's judgmental gaze drilling into his skull anymore.

"Actually, what- what happened to everyone?" He blurted out, "this is Grian's, well, your season 6 base, but when I last saw it, it was fine! Now everything just looks destroyed and ruined and- wait, where are the other Hermits? I haven't seen anyone here and-" He stopped himself once more as his eyes fell on the blond player's face.

Grian wasn't really doing anything alarming, but from one look alone, Mumbo could tell he had spoken too much.

The smaller Grian spread his wings and kicked off of the older Grian's shoulders, flying up, up, up through the crumbling center of the concrete pillar. He looked focused, not as distraught as the older Grian.

The older one sighed and looked up as his birdlike counterpart disappeared, "I'm not the smartest, but my Mumbo, well, he was. I'm going to guess you're an inventor, right? an engineer? My Mumbo was a physicist. He studied the timeline, mostly. I never understood most of what he told me but from what I did understand, you can't travel through time, only to other universes."

Mumbo took a second to process that, "does that mean.."

"You're not the first, and you certainly won't be the last. That little bird fellow? His home was under attack, in an attempt to save them a mage tried to send him through time. It didn't work, obviously, he ended up here." There was a tense moment of silence as Mumbo tried to get a grip.

"And.. where exactly is here?"

"My Home." The younger Grian still hadn't returned from where he had gone, and the older one looked downcast after saying that.

"How- How did it get to be like this?"

The older Grian took a second to gather his wits before giving a response. "Fire and time. At least that's how the buildings got to be how they are."

Mumbo looked at him in silence, not very satisfied with the vague answer. Grian noticed that expression and, almost subconsciously , he started talking again.

"It's a long story, some could actually argue that it was your fault." He said, "You...we were curious. A bit too curious. You asked for my help, and we messed with forces much bigger than us, this is the result."

"But this is absurd! What could we possibly have done to turn the server into-" Mumbo waved his hands around, pointing towards the two's surroundings. "...into this wasteland."

"This isn't really a wasteland." The avian commented as he made his way towards a chest. "You probably think that we killed the Hermits or something, but we didn't. Some of them are still here, others left...and you..." He shoved his sword into the chest before closing it roughly. "You fled, leaving me here to pick up the pieces." He finished with a growl.

That wasn't me, though!" Mumbo protested, shocked at the accusation. "That was some other me! I'd never do anything like that!"

"Oh please," said the older Grian. "Just because you haven't done anything like that doesn't mean you won't. How did you get here again? I'm sure it wasn't just some experiment. You were running from something, weren't you?"

"I-!"

Quite suddenly, Child Grian dropped down from the dark recesses of the tower. "Big G!" he squeaked. "Big G! They're coming again! I saw them!"

"Erm... What's coming?" Mumbo asked.

Older Grian stared him dead in the eye for a split second, before turning and retrieving his sword from the chest he had just put it into. "What's coming, you say?

"We call them... the Mooners."

Grian lifted Child Grian into his arms, hesitating abbot before signaling for Mumbo to follow him. He led the way up a staircase on the still intact part of the base, opening a door and nudging Little Grian in.

"Stay here," he whispered to the child, before gesturing for Mumbo to follow him up a hidden ladder on the wall.

"That closet has a false bottom, just big enough for Little Grian." He explained, showing Mumbo a nook in the wall for them to hide in. Grian lay down on his stomach, and Mumbo followed him.

"Spread out!" came the harsh order from the ground. A group of figures had appeared, their features indistinguishable from the distance. Mumbo recognized the speaker though. And as they continued talking, saying something about the moon telling them to come here, the leader's hood fell off.

Revealing the face of none other than ImpulseSV.

Mumbo gasped almost imperceptibly. What was Impulse doing? Impulse was a kind man who took care of the strangest things and never stopped helping hermits. This alternate universe was completely messed up. Grian made sure that both Mumbo and Little Grian were hidden before stepping out of the closet, securing the door behind him. Through a sliver at the bottom of the door, Mumbo could see Grian exit the closet area, taking a different route. He came in through the door directly to the right of the Mooners. There were always several ways to get around in Grian's base.

The Mooners spread out behind Impulse. Impulse's eyes glowed silver, and underneath the hoods of the other members, their eyes did the same. Five pairs of silver eyes staring into Grian's sky blue ones.

"If it isn't my favorite Hermit," Impulse sneered. "It was always a mistake, not joining the Mooners. When the moon comes, you'll be sorry."

"I doubt I'll have anything to regret," Grian retorted, his voice gaining a noble tone. "You cannot take over the server. I'll make sure of that."

"Perhaps Mumbo really was the wiser one, despite always being a spoon. He made the decision to stay out of the fight. It seems," Impulse paused, "that we may have to force your hand."

Dozens of hooded shapes came in behind the original five, silver eyes glowing. "There is no way you can win, Grian."

Mumbo leaned farther out of his hiding spot, carefully not to be seen, as he stared at the new arrivals. There was no way there were that many people here...

"I will fight until I can't any longer!" Grian snarled at Impulse, who shook his head sadly.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way... Cleo, why don't you take it from here?" He stepped back as one of the original five stepped forward, flicking her wrists. The army of people behind her began to advance.

"Cleo..." Grian whispered. "You let them get you? After what happened to Joe?" Cleo didn't respond, twisting her fingers like someone directing a puppet. Grian drew his sword and slashed at the first figure that came near, cutting the animated armor stand in half. He whirled on the next, and the next, as Cleo ordered them closer and closer, until they finally overwhelmed him, taking his sword and forcing him to his knees, hands behind his back. Impulse sauntered forward, one of the other originals at his side.

"It's really a pity you couldn't cooperate." He whispered, his fingers grazing Grian's chin and one of the scars there. "Your refusal to cooperate made Zed think that this order was bad..." he trailed off, face looking almost remorseful.

"The real pity is that you were blind enough to join it!" Grian growled, but a snarky smirk promptly replaced his previous frown. "So blind in fact, that you've forgotten that I also have some tricks up my sleeve."

Impulse's smile immediately dropped as he took a step back, but unfortunately for him, he wasn't quick enough. Before he could add anything else, a blast of purple magic flared out of the blonde's fingertips, hitting square in the face and knocking him down.

"I trust that you guys know what a Fight or Flight response is," Grian said as his blue eyes slowly started to become a dark shade of purple. Mumbo watched in a mixture of awe and fear as various blocks of concrete detached themselves from the wall and started floating around the Hermit.

"And since flight isn't really an option for me anymore," Grian continued. "I'm about to give you the fight of your life." he finished with a tone so venomous that even Mumbo felt a chill rise up his spine.

One of the five hooded figures ran next to Impulse who was on the floor. A green shine took the place of his normal silver one. He drawed out his sword, ready in one of his hands and the other one was engulfed in a green magical presence.

A smirk appeared on Grian's face. "So you have survived for this long?" A purple hue took over the shattering build. "I guess it's a battle of magicians."

The hooded figure lunged forward, his hood sliding off his head. It revealed a scared face, eyes glowing emerald green as his hair waved by the magic presence.

As all of this was happening as Mumbo was coming to a place he could watch the things more clearly. "Scar?" He mumbled, stopping when he locked eyes with the last hooded figure. They had seen him.

Scar didn't notice him, but one of the last two unhooded people had. They muttered something to the other unhooded, then turned and vanished. Mumbo swallowed, moving backward into the hiding spot, glad that he at least wasn't revealing Little Grian's hiding place. He reached nervously for his sword, but the sudden pressure of a blade against his back stopped him. He froze.

"I hope Grian knows what he's doing, bringing a doppelgänger here." A familiar voice mumbled. The blade shifted slightly, allowing Mumbo to turn around to face them. "There's no way you're our Mumbo." Mumbo stared at them, unsure of their intentions. The figure gave a heavy sigh and through their hood off, revealing the pale skin and blonde hair of False. She cracked a small grin.

"Bet Grian didn't have enough time to tell you about me?" She gestured to her silver eyes. "Grian gave me this, so I can play double agent." She shook her head, looking at Mumbo again. "You're not as talkative as our Mumbo was. Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. Get Little Grian and get out of here. There's a bunker in a hill nearby, take him there. And don't get caught." Mumbo nodded, managing a "thank you," before False pulled her hood back up and swung down from the hiding spot.

To keep it brief, the situation was a mess.

Mumbo had found himself in a ruined version of the Hermitcraft Season 6 world, which was not only some sort of stop for dimensional travelers, but it was also inhabited by an older version and a younger version of one of his closest friends, a cult made up of evil versions of his other friends, and possibly some other people.

The man's head was starting to spin from all those weird details, but the sound of an explosion was enough to make him snap back to reality. He should've probably focused on getting the hell out of the battlefield before having an existential crisis.

He shyly peaked his head outside of the hole he was hiding in. Particles of purple and green magic were flying everywhere as the "Hermits" tried to hit the older Grian, only for him to either dodge the blasts or deflect them with his own magic. It was like a magical game of tag, except much worse since the two parties were actively trying to kill one another.

Mumbo shook his head. Without wasting any more time, he started making his way towards little Grian's hiding spot.

He slipped over to the closet door, knocking softly to get Little Grian's attention.

"I need you to come out, bud," he whispered. "We need to get out of here." The door opened a second later and the child darted over to Mumbo and into his arms. Mumbo lifted him up and started toward the exit. Almost there... he thought.

A loud bang made him jump, and he turned toward the sound. Impulse had thrown one of the two still-hooded figures to the ground, his boot resting on the cloaked person's rib cage.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" He hissed. "Do you think I'm stupid?" He snapped his fingers, and another loud bang sounded. The cloaked figure flinched. Grian had stopped, a shield of purple magic surrounding him, as he watched Impulse kick the person on the ground in the ribs.

"Wels, Cleo, grab her." He ordered, confirming Mumbo's suspicions.

False had been caught.

Mumbo didn't want to let her get beat around like that, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help. The best thing he could do in this scenario was get small Grian out of there.

He turned back towards the exit and ran out, trying to remember Grian's base layout so that he could find a good place to hide.

Eventually small Grian noticed his confusion and, realizing the urgency of the situation, began pulling him toward another tower.

Once inside Mumbo found a secret closet just big enough for both of them, and they hid inside it. At that point all Mumbo could do was hope that Grian could figure out something to do.

Grian was panicking. They had found False and had her on the ground, completely at their mercy.

Abandoning his shield for a moment, Grian tried to shoot precise blasts of magic to get them away, but Grian couldn't do anything without risking hitting False.

He guessed it was time to call for backup. "Hang in there, False." She was still fighting back, using her own silver magic to defend herself.

Grian pulled out a small communicator. It was an older version, and it functioned more like a walkie-talkie. "Tango, False is in trouble, we need backup.

-

Tango sat on the edge of the cliff, feet dangling over the edge. He'd found that the Mooners never came here anymore, probably under Impulse's command. He didn't want to see where he'd lost his temper, where Zed had pushed him just a little too far.

The wind whipped around him, echoing, and if he closed his eyes, it sounded like Zed's scream for help. Tango sighed, curling in on himself as he fought to block out the memories. Thankfully, his communicator buzzed and interrupted him. But the words that came through didn't make him feel any better.

"Tango, False is in trouble. We need backup." Tango sprang to his feet and ran towards the city, quickly texting Xisuma and Hels to get to Grian's base as quickly as possible. Then he ran.

A moment too late.

The timespan of a few seconds.

He arrived just in time to see Impulse drive his sword through False's stomach.

Upon seeing Tango arrive, Impulse flinched. He let his guard down for a moment, probably less than a second, but Grian was able to take that opportunity.

He swiftly moved his hand upwards and raised a pillar from the ground under Impulse's feet, sending him flying away from False.

It was sad. No matter what kind of weird magic was mind controlling him, Impulse would always have a soft spot for Tango, and Grian hated to exploit that about him: it reminded him that underneath those green eyes there used to be a friend.

It was then that Xisuma and Hels arrived. Upon seeing False's condition, they quickly worked to fight off the Mooner cult with blasts of black magic from the deep, and fire from the Hels dimension.

Lacking some of their key members, and unorganized from the previous fighting, they were quickly overwhelmed and had to retreat. Tango pulled out his communicator once again.

"Gem, we need you. False is hurt." The communicator cackled some before Gem's response came. I'm already there.

Just then Gem came bursting up the stairs. Grian, Hels, and Xisuma looked shocked.

"I came as soon as I felt False's pain. I can't lose her like I lost Stress." Quickly she crouched over the limp body of the server's best fighter. She brought out her hands and a green shimmer slowly appeared around her.

In front of their eyes False's stomach began to knit back together. Everything inside went first. Her intestines repaired themselves and everything that had flooded out of them was sucked back in. Then the blood vessels and arteries were repaired, the blood cleaned and replaced.

Suddenly the green shimmer vanished. "I can't do it anymore," Gem looked up in despair. "You guys'll have to wrap her up until I can get back enough energy to finish the job."

Pearl was getting some strong Evo vibes from what was going on down there. The two Grian's (two red sheep, taken under the wings of beings she could never understand) were new, though.

She had followed Mumbo (her world's Mumbo, yes, that naive little tramp) through his time machine shenanigans (how, you ask? she wasn't entirely sure either: it had something to do with her old moon magic, though), and she was trying to be discreet as she watched him get into a huge mess another version of himself created, but it was very.... weird, to say the least.

If there was anything that Evo taught her, it was that there were some things you just shouldn't get involved with, whether it be for your own good or someone else's. This was something Grian never learned - it just wasn't in his nature. So everywhere he went, chaos followed, and he welcomed it, even when it brought him into danger, like now. He was like the sun, always in the center of attention.

Just as he was the sun, she was the moon - hidden in the shadows. Watching.

Though if False died, she wasn't going to be concealed for much longer.

-

Etho was stuck. He was stuck all alone. All by himself. He'd never found himself like this before.

It was cold here. He was in the arctic. It may have been his home, but he was still cold. All he could remember was watching Iskall do his thing in the shattered savanna.

Then he was here, in the snow biome, at night, another version of him staring at a pitch-black portal. Then the other version of him jumped, and he was alone. No one to ask how he got here. No one to ask where here was. He was just alone.

He wandered around a little, trying to get a bearing on his surroundings. In the distance he saw an old base. He wrinkled his nose, it didn't look like any building he'd ever seen.

Then it hit him, it must be from Season 6.

Why was he in Season 6? What concerned him was that the base looked abandoned. Much of the building was blown up, and much of the interior was in a state of disrepair unlike anything any of the Hermits would ever allow.

On a stroke of genius, he pulled out his communicator to check the tab list. He was startled when he saw two Grian names. One with a label that said child. He also saw that the younger-looking Grian had a label saying, "from an unknown universe." He also saw a Pearl and Mumbo that were marked as "from your universe".

He quickly absorbed the new information. He already knew from prior research there were multiple universes and you could travel through them, how else would he get here from Mindcrack. He also knew that the tab list had a special setting that could keep track of things like that, which is what he hacked into.

He figured Mumbo made some sort of machine to hop universes, and ended up here. The machine must've malfunctioned and brought him and Pearl here.

Mumbo watched in fascination. The amount of power wielded by the group was astounding. But there were simply too many of them. With Cleo and her armor stands? They had no chance.

Mumbo shifted his gaze to the massive moon that loomed over the server. It was just as large as it was at the end of Season 8, but it showed no signs of messing with gravity or anything. Strange, and definitely not following the rules of basic physics.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flicker of movement. He moved slowly over to the shadow, making it all the way there before realizing he had no weapons. Peace, Love, and Plants.

There was no way he could be in bigger trouble without a weapon than on this doomed version of Hermitcraft. Pulling out a stick, he went around the corner. The shadow's silver eyes flashed, and he was moved back by its magic. The figure stepped into the light.

"Pearl?"

She smiled, albeit a little nervously. She reached for the moon and made a pulling motion with her hand. She was rocketed out of there, drawn by the moon. She spread her arms like hugging the moon and then contracted them, squeezing them together. The moon began to shrink. She wasn't fast enough.

"No!" An arrow flew out of nowhere, impaling Pearl's side. The moon stopped shrinking, about three-quarters of what it was. Pearl fell downwards to the hard concrete floor as Impulse made his second appearance in the doorway.

Mumbo wasn't sure on what to blame his next action, whether it was a fight or flight response, or maybe just the effects of his delirious sleep deprived state, but without even thinking, he suddenly clutched the little Grian's hand and sprinted forward.

He ran up to Impulse and elbowed him square in the back, hitting at full force and knocking him down into the water. He then proceeded to let go of Grian's head to grab Pearl, throw her over his shoulder and start running again.

The young Grian stood still for a few seconds to look at Impulse. The moment the man managed to get his head out of the water, the kid stuck his tongue out at him and flew right back at Mumbo's side.

"You will not get away with this!" Impulse cried. "The Great Lunar Neighbor will come and rescue this server from its ultimate destruction!"

Mumbo reached the other hermits, laying Pearl on the ground. Xisuma bent over to examine the wound, quickly settling on a combination of techniques to begin the healing process. "Wow, our Mumbo never did that," big Grian stated, earning a few chuckles from the others.

Impulse reached the top of the wall, glaring down at the hermits below. He made a fist, silver eyes flashing. Several arrows flew at lightning speed out of the shadows, almost immediately after one another. Impulse dodged each of them, matrix-style; he ducked under one, simultaneously side-stepping another, before leaping over the last three. A trident launched out of the shadows, narrowly missing him before returning to its wielder.

Etho dropped down from the ceiling, landing almost cat-like. He holds the trident in his left hand and a diamond sword in his right. Big Grian, now sufficiently recovered, stood next to him. All around them, the hermits could hear the footsteps of the mooners getting closer.

"Mumbo! Etho cannon!" Etho shouted. Mumbo hurriedly checked his inventory for TNT. No luck.

"I don't have any explosives!" Mumbo hollered back.

Grian extended a hand at the ground underneath Etho's feet. A small ball of purple fire grew underneath him. Etho looked at Grian, understanding. He crouched slightly, nodding. Grian blasted him upwards towards Impulse. Etho flung the trident at the peak of the launch. He landed right behind Impulse as the trident returned and the two engaged in an epic battle.

"Now or never guys!" Xisuma yelled. The remaining hermits turned to face the outside in a rough circle. There was a second of pause as the two sides looked at each other: players versus armor stands. A pin dropped, and then all hell broke loose.

Etho looked over to Impulse, a friend in his universe. Then he lunged forward with his diamond sword. He knew he was leaving an opening, actually, that was exactly what he wanted.

When Impulse took a swipe with his sword, Etho caught the blade in his trident and pulled back his blade.

He didn't want to kill Impulse, but there was no way he was going to let him get away with hurting his friends.

"It's now or never Impulse, give up."

Impulse sneered. "Never," he said. "The Great Lunar Neighbor will destroy you all."

It was then that Etho knew there was no getting Impulse back. Zedaph wasn't here, Etho had seen that when he checked the tab list, and that must have destroyed Impulse. There was no getting him back now.

So Etho didn't hold back anymore. He shoved the trident forward and pulled the sword out of Impulse's hand, disarming him.

Then he pulled back his trident and stabbed forward, only to be stopped by a bright silver shield made of magic.

The shield of energy knocked Etho backwards, sending him crashing off of the ledge he and Impulse had been fighting on. Hels caught him quickly, setting the masked boy on his feet before turning back to where Impulse had been.

He was gone.

"We need to go. Now." Xisuma ordered, pulling something out of his pocket. He fling it at the advancing armor stands, then lifted Pearl into his arms. "Grab False and the child and let's go!"

Mumbo picked up Child Grian again and ran after the others, Hels holding False gently and Tango and Gem supporting Grian, who looked exhausted from so much magic use. They'd barely made it out of the tower when an earthshaking boom sounded, and the tower caved in on itself. Tango looked grim.

"Come to my place. We'll get everyone cleaned up there."

They ran for a while, attempting to keep a low profile while also trying to hurry to make sure none of their friends bled out. Before long, the tip of Tango's bases' crimson towers started peaking over the horizon.

They quickly headed inside and all breathed a collective sigh of relief. All except for the little Grian who, probably unaware of how dire their situation truly was, simply jumped away from Mumbo's arms and started flying around, curiously exploring his surroundings like any little kid would.

The Hermits swiftly settled down, as if they had done that many times before. Gem and Xisuma started looking after the wounded, Etho and Hels were overseeing the weakened older Grian and Tango had gone after the little Grian to make sure the child didn't get lost.

An odd sense of security seemed to appear among the group. It was then that Mumbo spoke up.

"Alright, so," He mumbled, still catching his breath. "can anyone please tell me what that was all about?"

Etho sat up as well, his heterochromatic eyes focusing on Xisuma. The Admin blew out a breath and shifted his weight back onto his heels, setting Pearl's head gently on the ground before turning to them.

"After the moon crushed our Season 8 world, I brought everyone here. I thought it would be safe, but..." he trailed off, looking helplessly at the others from this timeline, before turning back. "Our Mumbo, back in Season 8, had started a kind of cult in honor of the moon. Impulse and Cub, they were his most loyal followers. He had meant the cult as a joke, and when we came here, he tried to end it. Impulse and Cub disagreed. People started taking sides. Fights broke out. After a confrontation that ended in Cub's death and Stress being severely injured, Impulse and his remaining followers left. They're still in this word, as you saw, but they refuse to have anything to do with those of us that were against them or tried to remain neutral." Gem looked up from where she held False's hand as Hels firmly pressed a rag on the wound in the blonde's stomach.

"X?" She asked.

"Yes, Gem?"

"Did you see Jevin or Hypno there?" Xisuma paused, looking worried.

"No. I only saw five, including False." He looked at Mumbo and the older Grian.

"Impulse, Cleo, Scar, Wels, False," The older Grian listed. "He must have left Hypno and Jevin behind."

"He did leave us behind," the hermits whirled toward the sound. "Just not exactly where you think we'd be."

Jevin and Hypno were standing back-to-back about twenty blocks away. The moonlight from the massive orb in the sky reflected off of Jevin's gelatinous skin, giving him an almost pearlescent shine. Hypno, on the other hand, almost soaked up the light, a dark shadow silhouetted against the moon.

"Jevin, Hypno, please, let this end," Xisuma pleaded.

"No can do, X," Jevin replied. "The Great Lunar Neighbor is coming, and it doesn't take kindly to insurrection. We must all accept the help that the moon wishes to give us." Jevin placed a button on the floor. "This entire room is rigged with TNT. If you don't join the Mooners and follow us out, this entire base will go up in beautiful little explosions."

"That's griefing!" Tango shouted.

"We stand by our orders from the Great Lunar Neighbor," Hypno said.

"Hypno, Jevin," Xisuma shook his head sadly, "We don't want to fight, but you leave us no choice."

The hermits got ready to battle, but before they could begin, all of them were lifted off the ground by an almost supernatural force. The moon seemed bigger than ever, but the true cause of the lifting was done by two celestial beings, hovering on small crescent-shaped plates. They glowed with a silver light like the moon, casting the glow over the whole server.

Moon Men. Either they're all doomed forever, or they are saved from the division caused by the cult. You never knew with them.

"Wait," Mumbo said. "Who are those guys?!"

"Moon Men, duh," Jevin scoffed. "Sent by the Great Lunar Neighbor, to judge if we are worthy or not."

Above them, the silvery glow of the moon got brighter. "Run!" Xisuma yelled, turning and sprinting towards Hypno and Jevin, who were too busy staring at the Moon Men to notice the admin charging them down. Unfortunately for him, Xisuma was a derp. And he tripped, right as he was about to get past them.

"Hey!" Jevin shouted. "You're not going anywhere!"

Overhead, the Moon Men were getting closer.

Hypno drew an enchanted diamond sword and pointed it at the rest of the group. "This is in case any of you get any bright ideas."

Behind him, Xisuma was being held by Jevin.

And then the silver discs hit the ground. There was a sort of rumbling that spread all across the server, like the earth itself was recognizing the presence of these otherworldly visitors. Xisuma panicked, struggling to escape - and he kicked the button, activating it. The button connected to the TNT. The TNT that was rigged to blow, all around them.

TNT hissed as the redstone signal spread throughout the ground. The non-Mooners huddled together in the hopes that they would take less damage. Blocks came out of people's inventories as blast walls went up, but they weren't fast enough. Hypno and Jevin released Xisuma milliseconds before the TNT detonated, leaving him standing in the epicenter.

"X, no!" big Grian yelled. His magic formed a shield around the hermits in the center, but he couldn't pull X in before the first block blew up. Explosions filled the air, clouding the atmosphere with smoke.

The sounds of destruction faded out, save for a few explosions scattered around the perimeter. Grian collapsed on his hands and knees, exhausted from magic use. Mumbo looked around, taking in the damage. All that was left of Tango's massive nether base was a smoking crater hundreds of blocks wide.

They had forgotten about the Moon Men. The celestial beings lowered themselves onto the barren ground, lunar light palely reflecting off the stone. Footsteps and rockets rang out in the twisting canyons left by the TNT as the Mooners rushed forward to kneel in front of the Moon Men. The small group looked at each other before inching their way over.

A minute reflection caught Mumbo's eye as they moved toward the Moon worshippers. He broke away, picking his way through the rubble to where he had seen the precious glint of metal. He arrived at the place, discovering a half-completed box of obsidian. He felt his hopes soar as he peered around the corner, but they were dashed to pieces in seconds.

Xisuma lay on the ground, barely breathing, his armor dented and burnt. Mumbo fell to his knees next to the dying admin, unrestrained tears running through the dirt on his face. The light whirring of wings sounded behind him, and Tango and little Grian appeared. Xisuma made a quiet noise in his throat, fingers tentatively reaching toward Mumbo. The mustached hermit grabbed his hand and pressed it to his chest as the admin struggled to choke out words.

"Moon Men," the armored player whispered. "I know why now..." He trailed off. Mumbo leaned closer as little Grian perched on his chest. The admin tried to complete his sentence, but the effort drained what little life he had left. He fell back, head resting on the jagged and uneven stone, his hand in Mumbo's going limp. Mumbo pressed Xisuma's hand to his forehead as Tango knelt down to listen for his heartbeat, but there wasn't one to be heard. His howl of grief echoed throughout the twisted passageways.

Mumbo numbly stood. "I'm not from this universe. And yet, the suffering caused by the Mooners must be stopped. I was responsible for the Mooners, indirectly, and I will put a stop to their madness. For your sake, Tango and Grian, for Xisuma's sake, and for the sake of Hermitcraft."

Tango put his hand on Mumbo's shoulder. "We'll stand with you. Impulse is my friend, and I'll do anything to have another chance to bring him back."

The three of them put their hands together; little Grian's hand was almost comically small against theirs. "For Impulse. For Xisuma. For Hermitcraft!" they cried. The trio emerged from the box and snuck over to the Mooner congregation. The small group of hermits that were not a part of the Mooners stood to the side, watching the proceedings. Mumbo, Tango, and little Grian pushed through the crowd of cultists, stopping in front of the Moon Men.

The pieces began to come together in Mumbo's mind, as they had for Xisuma seconds before he died. They're not here to attack. They're here to take us forward. That's how we get to Season 9. Xisuma may be a derp, but he knows how to piece together a puzzle. He looked at them and said, "I know now why you're here."

The lunar beings looked down on him and the two hermits standing behind him. "We are pleased that you understand, but we cannot fulfill our duties. Rifts in friendships cause rifts in worlds. Rifts in traveling between dimensions. It is not safe to continue."

Tango took a deep breath. He stepped up to Impulse, extending his hand. "Impulse, man. I'm as upset as you are over the direction we've traveled because of this conflict. Can we make it up?" Impulse hesitated, the longing pronounced and evident in his eyes. He accepted the handshake, and Tango pulled him in for a hug. Tears traced shiny lines down their faces as they realized the void of loss they had felt without their friendship.

Slowly, the Mooners and hermits came together, embracing the people they had missed. All of them had injuries, some tiny scrapes, others with wounds, all of them sensitive. Tender embraces made up for the stinging pain. The Moon Men looked on as they healed.

All of the hermits united behind Mumbo. "Ready," is all the mustached hermit said. The Moon Men parted, spreading their arms, one higher, one lower. A shining portal appeared in the circle they formed, quietly swishing as it warped into existence. Mumbo glanced at the hermits behind him and was the first to step through the portal.

The shining walls formed a tunnel. Mumbo walked ahead, not looking back. When he glanced behind, he saw Pearl and Etho from his universe. None of the others were there. It made sense for the two of them to be the only ones there, but there was still a sad twinge when he couldn't see the other hermits he had gotten to know again.

Wearily, they arrived. The trio was greeted by the hermits they left behind with joy, but the exhaustion within them was exhausted. Mumbo, Pearl, and Etho exchanged looks, silently agreeing to not speak of the events that had occurred. They parted ways, Etho to explore and wander alone for some time, Pearl to build to cope, and Mumbo to bed.

No amount of inquiry from the hermits, even Grian and Xisuma, could get them to speak. Their tale has remained a mystery...

Until today.